"It is getting harder and harder to run a law firm." I heard this over a year ago at an "in-person gathering." For those who do not recall our history, there was a time when humans purposefully gathered together to share knowledge, build relationships, experience collegiality, and grow professionally. It is something that some still strive to do, as recently as the Florida Association of Self-Insureds in October. The intrusion of Covid-19/SARS-CoV-2 changed much in our lives personal and professional. Is it affecting the quality of our work?
I was reminded of Snopes during a recent community legal organization meeting that evolved into a discussion of challenges in the practice of law. A law firm administrator similarly voiced frustration with finding and recruiting effective and efficient staff. There was mention of the current pandemic frustrating that effort, but there seems to be recognition that struggles in this regard existed and frustrated before last spring's pivot to telecommuting, and more.
Snopes.com has become known for its objective analysis of rumor and innuendo. It reports with clear adjectives like "true," "false," "mostly false," "miscaptioned," "misattributed," "mixture," and others. When something is submitted, the folks at Snopes strive to form their own opinions on such matters and declare their conclusions to the world. Its conclusions are respected by many. The Wall Street Journal says "Sophisticated netizens swear by the myth-busting of Snopes."
So, there are those who believe that running a law firm is becoming more difficult. There are also those who remind us that merely working is becoming more difficult. Life in general, perhaps, is becoming more complex and therefore more difficult?
During that recent meeting, the subject of work quality arose. There was a seeming consensus that the quality of legal work has suffered in the pandemic. Some are readily admitting that they have personally made more errors in recent months. One candidly noted that long after some document is filed this author will happen across a glaring error that inexplicably escaped both the drafting and proofing processes.
That reminded me of recent posts like We Must Do Better with Pleading and Proof (09.29.20) and Complacency or Zealousness (08.17.20). These discuss perceptions that the quality of pleadings has diminished. There is an inclination perhaps to blame that on the pandemic. I have been told of lawyers struggling to produce documents without staff in the office regularly. They are "isolated" from their document-producing experts. I have also heard of staff stressed alternatively by being in the office and instead by being stuck at home. Stress comes in all shapes and sizes, from a variety of sources.
Stress has led to frustration. As documented last June, it has led in some instances to untoward behavior that is unfortunate. See Rude Behavior only Begets Regret (06.16.20). Last month, WorkersCompensation.com reminded us that there has been violence in the workplace, perhaps in part from stress. There has been stress aplenty for everyone, despite their personal experiences perhaps seeming less challenging than one's own. See We will get Through This (04.19.20).
The stress theme resurfaced in that recent meeting. We were also reminded that some who telecommute face a myriad of challenges of which we may or may not know, or understand. A cited example is the telecommuting employee who possesses one computer, one job, and two "virtually" attending school-aged children. That computer is likely to be getting significant use. Thus, the production of documents may be rushed or even frantic during the limited time a computer is available for work.
Does that potential impact the stress of a supervisor or lawyer who wonders if a day's work is being accomplished for each day's pay? If that work is being crammed into some shorter time, to the detriment of overall quality, is it appropriate for the payroll not to acknowledge that impact? If an employee is rushed, does it make sense for her/him to acknowledge that so perhaps a coworker might do some proofreading before filing?
There was also a revelation. A conversant noted that the practice of law overall has changed. Staff, it was said, have to be more today than was historically required. The statement was made to the effect that "constraints do not allow attorneys to watch over the work of staff" as has been traditionally done. Staff, therefore, must be more self-sufficient, independent, and competent.
In that regard, no one at the meeting raised the supervisory responsibility of lawyers found in Rule 4-5.3 Responsibilities Regarding Nonlawyer Assistants. That a non-lawyer is delegated tasks or functions does not change that it is the lawyer who is responsible for the practice of law. One person mentioned that if a filing deadline were missed by staff, that would mean dismissal. Somehow, there was no discussion of how such an error would mean the dismissal of the lawyer who was actually responsible as supervisor.
Where should such responsibility lie? Does the pandemic and its challenges change that? It is respectfully suggested that the responsibility remains with the attorney. If a deadline is missed, that is ultimately the attorney's fault; staff is in support of, ancillary to, the attorney. They may be relied upon and delegated to, but it seems that the responsibility remains regardless of the pandemic.
How would Snopes rate that (1) professional stress has increased in 2020; (2) supervising staff has become more difficult in 2020; (3) lawyers and staff are making more errors in 2020; (4) errors are increasingly serious in 2020; (5) there is nothing we can do to combat either frequency or severity of errors. Are these "true," "mostly true," "mixture," or "false?" How about the initial premise: "It is getting harder and harder to run a law firm?"
As to the last, only those running law firms could really comment. As to (5), I would suggest that the answer has to be "false." The fact is that we can always strive to do better work. When we strive to be better, to do better, we will see better results. That effort may produce stress, but clients are not paying for mistakes, but for success.
What do I think is undeniably "true?" That we will get through this pandemic. That it will impact our lives personal and professional. That we must strive persistently to deliver quality in our work for the sake of our customers. Whether in the practice of law, medicine, nursing, adjusting, managing, or otherwise, people are depending upon us. Professionals have a responsibility to both strive for excellence and to train, and supervise their subordinates.
The roles of paraprofessionals and staff may be evolving. Those changes may be temporary, transient, or perhaps permanent. What is not changing is that the supervisor and manager remain responsible for ensuring that, despite any challenges or distractions, the work product remains professional, compliant, and effective. The customer or client deserves quality work. Someone is paying for it, and they deserve their money's worth.
Knowing of the stress and the potential, lawyers would do well to ensure there is oversight, proofreading, and patience. This is a time when the pace must perhaps decrease, and supervision must increase. Quality, I would urge, matters. That needs to be "true," and "mostly true" is simply not good enough.
